A Little Convincing
by Incendiarism
Summary: Hallows Spoilers! The discussion of what was left unsaid. Ron and Hermione fluff.


**A Little Convincing **

**A/N- Number 7 was amazing. This is my take on what could've happened the day after the war. Read and Review!**

There shouldn't have been a doubt in Hermione's mind that Ron cared about her, yet, there was. That was just the way Hermione operated, she had to overanalyze everything.

Kissing Ron in the midst of a war had been, perhaps, the greatest moment in her life. She couldn't even stand, she swayed… and he actually, literally, swept her off her feet. He kissed her back, that she was sure of. You can't imagine someone kissing you the way Ron was kissing her.

It was the currently day after the day their kiss, the end of the war, and the friends' deaths took place on. The death of Fred, Tonks, and Lupin had laid a horrible blanket over the happiness of the end of the war and Harry's return to them. The Burrow was oddly quite that night, and all that day. Everyone sort of kept to themselves, lost without one of the Weasleys.

The kiss had remained unmentioned for almost twenty four hours now, and Hermione was afraid if they didn't talk about it now, they might never. Yet, she still was afraid Ron didn't love her. She knew she loved Ron. Yes, that she was sure of. She was only seventeen, she felt she was too young to love someone the way she loved Ron. Yet, she loved him.

She walked down to the kitchen. The Weasley house was silent and unmoving for the first time she could remember. It was eight thirty at night, and normally the house would be full of family fighting, talking, and laughing. The absence of Fred seemed to cause everyone else to be absent too. They were all tired, and Hermione imagined all the Weasleys were in their respective bedrooms. All, except, for maybe Harry and Ginny, they disappeared shortly after the quiet and disjointed dinner.

Hermione sat down at the table and buried her head in her hands. Everything should be simple now- She could restore her parents' memories, she could finally be with Ron. Yet, for some reason everything seemed on hold.

She heard a rustling noise behind her. Ron appeared standing in the doorway of the kitchen, his freckled and pale face looking whiter than normal. His eyes seemed drooped and disconnected to the rest of him.

"Hey," He whispered. "Can I sit?"

She nodded, and Ron took a seat next to her. There was so much to be said between the two of them, and neither seemed to know where to start.

"How are you?" Hermione asked vaguely, knowing it was a dumb question.

"I'm… many things right now. I'm sad and I'm happy and I'm… confused," He ran his hand through his hair and placed his hands on the sides of his temples. Hermione tentatively reached up and touched his right hand. "There's a lot you need to know, Hermione. I know we've been skirting around everything for a while."

She nodded. They weren't good at this, at telling each other they cared. Hermione knew it could be left unsaid and expressed in some physical manifestation of how they felt towards one another. Although this would be nice, she knew they needed to talk about it. They needed to open up those lines of communication with each other in order to close the final space between them. Hermione didn't want any more spaces between her and Ron. After that kiss, she felt the need to be one with him more than ever. No more spaces.

Ron looked over at her and removed her hand and his from his face. They held hands on the table. Ron sighed, "I'm sorry I left when we were looking for the Horcruxes. I'm sorry I hurt you. Harry told me you… you cried a lot. I never wanted to make you cry."

Hermione blushed, "Remind me to kill Harry- Boy-Who-Lived my arse."

Ron smiled sadly, "I've always felt… second best, Hermione. I thought you'd prefer Harry to me. I couldn't see what woman would like me better. I'm… I'm nothing special. When I wore that damned Horcrux around my next it made all that seem true."

Hermione, still blushing, managed to look at Ron. She knew he needed to hear what she was about to say. His eyes were still faced forward and Hermione pulled her hand from him and grabbed his head.

He looked at her, wide-eyed and shocked.

"Ron, you listen to me," She began.

He interrupted her, "Blimey! What in the name of Merlin's beard are you doing! My head is attached to my body, ya know. You can't just go grabbing at it and whipping it around like that-"

She ignored him, and practically shouted "Ron! Listen to me!" She steadied her voice so she was now speaking softly, but with strong force and conviction, "How could you ever think you were second best? Ron Weasley, you were never second best. Ever. It was always you, Ron. Always. I loved you both differently. I loved Harry like a brother and I lo-"

Hermione stopped, realizing what she was about to say. A slow blush crept up her face. Ron's head was still squashed awkwardly between Hermione's tiny hands. He smiled, "You what?"

Hermione cleared her throat and tried to gain some control, "I… well, I, you know… cared for you differently." By now she had released his face and was fumbling with the table cloth, looking intently at it as if it had just become very interesting.

Ron smirked, "Gee, for someone who's just told me I wasn't second best, you don't sound very sure. I don't know if I'm convinced." Hermione was a deep crimson now. Ron leaned his face closer to hers, "I can tell you, Hermione Granger, that I don't love you like a sister. It would actually be quite pervy if I did…"

Hermione rolled her eyes and looked up, smiling slightly. She put her arm on his chest pushing him back in a playful way, "Rooooonnn…." But their eyes met in the process, and for the second time in twenty four hours, this time initiated by Ron, they were kissing. Both were glad they were sitting this time, since they definitely felt their knees tremble. They pulled away eventually, both looking slightly drugged.

When they came out of their fog, Hermione whispered, "Still convinced that you're second best?"

Ron put his forehead to hers and his smiling lips centimeters from her eager mouth, "If I say yes, will you try and, er, convince me again?"

"Well, if I have to…" And with that, Hermione closed the space between them.


End file.
